Nostalgia Candies
by UchiHime
Summary: A town this small was a prison for someone like Draco, but coming back made life seem just a bit more sweet.


**Nostalgia Candies**

_Peppermints..._

The little bell above the door of the Candy Shoppe jingled and a tall man with platinum blond hair and the most mesmerizing silver eyes stepped in. The man was handsome with finely chiseled features, a slender yet powerful form, and an air about him that oozed smug propriety. The light winter coat he wore obviously cost a pretty penny and his tan colored slacks were tailored fit. Even his polished black shoes were made of real leather and branded with the name of one of the most expensive companies in the country. The man obviously was accustomed to having money—and a lot of it.

Silver eyes glinted in the harsh artificial lighting as they glanced around the store. A small smile tugged at the corner of thin lips unused to such a gesture. No matter how much the world changed outside, the Candy Shoppe remained frozen in time. The little candy store was a landmark in its small town. Family owned and operated for fifty years, the names of the candy may change, but the feel of the shop was always the same. In a small town that consisted of only one main road that branched off into residential areas, a general store, a barber shop, one school house (it went from kindergarten to grade six, anything higher than that and you had to catch the bus to the next town over), a bank, one bar, and pretty much nothing else to note; the Candy Shoppe was easily the favored place among the town's youths.

He could clearly recall scouring the house for loose change as a child so he could buy a handful of penny candy at the Shoppe. It was one of the man's treasured childhood memories. Every child that ever lived in the town probably had the same memory.

With graceful movements, the blond man strode around the shop eying the candy displays. Another small smile tugged at his lips when he saw the peppermints—all individually wrapped in a variety of colors. They brought back memories. When he was six years old his first grade teacher would give all the students peppermint every Friday afternoon right before school let out. The yellow ones were his favorite and one Friday he was standing in line with the rest of his classmates happily sucking on his treat as they made their way to the dismissal area. No matter how hard he thought about it, he was never able to recall what exactly made him start choking on his peppermint that Friday, but that's what happened. Unfortunately it happen just as the principal was walking by, and though no harm was done (he had survived after all) the principal had declared that the teacher was no longer allowed to give them hard candies.

A lot of his classmates weren't pleased with him after that, but the most special part of the memory was of the little boy with bright green eyes and messy black hair that looked at him and gave a shy smile. "Don't feel bad," the boy had said. "Maybe we'll get soft peppermints from now on. They're my favorite."

That hadn't been the first time he had ever spoken to the green eyed boy, but now it felt like the beginning of everything.

_Gummy Bears..._

The man smiled and grabbed a little bag from the shelf (they were for putting your candy in while shopping). He picked up a few yellow peppermints and a handful of soft ones, before continuing his stroll around the store.

The next thing that caught his attention was the child-size bags of gummy bears, or sneak-size as they used to call them back in the day. There was only one third grade class at the town's school and when he was eight the teacher for the class had been known for her strict no candy policy. Anyone caught eating candy in her class got the ruler, since corporeal punishment had yet to be outlawed back then. It seemed like every day at least one student got caught chewing gummy bears during the lesson since the child-size bags fit so easily in your pockets they could go unnoticed. It eventually got to the point where the teacher demanded they turn their pockets inside out upon entering the classroom, but before it got to that point he could remember watching the same green-eyed boy from before sneaking the little bears into his smiling mouth.

His young self had been amazed at how the green eyed boy managed to go through at least four sneak-size bags a day without ever getting caught but once. And that one time had admittedly been his fault since the boy had slipped him a few of the bears. He had gotten caught eating them since apparently he wasn't as sneaky as his black haired, green eyed friend. When the teacher demanded he hand over every bag of candy he had and he was forced to admit to having none, she had turned her attention to his table mates and demanded they all empty their pockets. He had smiled apologetically at the black haired boy who only smile and winked back before pulling two unopened bags of bears from his pockets. The teacher confiscated the candy and rapped both their knuckles with her ruler before returning to her lesson. During the lesson, the green eyed boy nudged him and slipped him some more bears (to this day he still didn't know how the bears had slipped the teacher's notice) and winked at him again.

The man added four sneak-size packs of gummy bears to his bag before walking towards the next shelf.

_Nougat Chews..._

"Well if it isn't young Mr. Malfoy." A voice called in greeting as he approached the next shelf of treats. The blond could remember Hal Honeyduke from when he was younger. A few years older than himself, and next in line to inherit the Candy Shoppe, Hal had been a favorite among the kids that had shared his youth. "Haven't seen you around these parts in a while. What brings you back here?"

The blond nodded. "I came to see him, of course. I couldn't with good conscience stay away forever, now could I?"

"I would hope not. You were his favorite person in the whole world, Draco. He wasn't quite the same after you left, but he kept deluding himself that you would be back."

Draco sighed inwardly; he knew he had prompted the aforementioned delusions with the promises he'd made with no intentions of keeping. He had worked his ass off to escape this small town and once he was gone he knew he wouldn't be coming back. "I'm back now, even if I am too late."

Hal nodded his understanding. He couldn't blame Draco for running and not looking back. This town was a prison for someone like the blond: someone with drive, ambitions, and a need for independence bigger than the town itself. "You buying anything?" Hal asked.

Draco held up the bag of peppermints and gummy bears. "I'm still looking."

"Right. Let me know when you're done. I'm closing up before long."

Draco nodded and watched Hal walk away, before turning his silver eyes back to the shelf of sweets. A small smile pulled at his lips when he spotted the long white packaging of the Nougat Chews. The Candy Shoppe boasted the selling of the longest ropes of nougat in the world; though they weren't sure if that was false advertisement or not. Candy Shoppe Nougat Chews were two and a half feet long and, if eaten correctly, could last a walk from one end of the town to the other.

Draco had been ten years old when the Nougat Chews first hit the shelves and he had fallen fast in love with them. He could remember stopping by the Shoppe for a couple every day and chewing contently on them while sitting in his fifth grade class. Fifth grade had been the year Draco had first started feeling that their small town was more of a prison than a home. He used to sit in his desk, ignoring the teacher lecturing, and fantasying about going to the Candy Shoppe, buying thirty Nougat Chews (a big number to his small self) and seeing how far he could walk away from town until they ran out. He was almost sure that thirty chews could take him as far as London, Paris, or Rome. Any big city better than their small town. When the teacher called on him to answer questions, he was usually too lost in his daydreams to know the answer, but instead of letting him make a fool of himself in front of the class, Draco's green eyed friend next to him would whisper the answers for only Draco to hear. The teacher would move on, satisfied that Draco knew the answers, and Draco would smile at his friend in thanks before ripping his Nougat Chew in half and sharing it with the green eyed boy.

When Draco had moved out of the town, he had been gifted thirty nougat chews. They hadn't lasted him to London, Paris, or Rome, but they did last long enough to get him out of the prison that was his home.

Draco added two Nougat Chews to his bag, one for him and one to share.

_Licorice..._

Draco moved to the next shelf in the store and stopped. The Candy Shoppe sold two types of licorice, the anise flavored black licorice that only old people liked and the fruity red licorice that kids savored. The red licorice was sold in long thin ropes about the same length as the Nougat Chews.

In seventh grade there was a rhyme the children used to sing:

_Poor little Candice_  
><em>tied her dress with licorice.<em>  
><em>The ants came in<em>  
><em>and ate it up.<em>  
><em>The dress fell down<em>  
><em>and showed her butt.<em>

Draco had never understood why the rhyme was so popular, so he'd never fell into singing it. But every day when he boarded the bus to go to school in the next town over, familiar green eyes would look up at him from the first bus seat. With a smile, the green eyed boy would invite Draco to sit next to him, and while the bus drove on, the green eyed boy would stare out the window and sing that silly little song. One day Draco had asked, "Why do you like that stupid song so much, Harry?" Harry turned and smiled at him, before digging a string of licorice out of this pocket. He ripped the licorice in half and gave Draco a piece, before turning back to the window and singing the little rhyme for the rest of the ride.

Draco sighed and grabbed a few strings of licorice from the shelf and added it to his bag, before moving on to the next candy display.

_Unicorn Pops..._

Unicorn Pops are long thin lollipops that twist around their sticks and come to a sort of point. They were more popular with girls and little kids, but in ninth grade they were all Draco ever saw Harry eating. Anyone who knew Harry knew that he was a kind person, nice to everyone and in love with all things sugary. Harry was a quiet boy, who kept to himself for the most part but was quick to defend people from bullies, usually making a target of his self in the process. Harry was a small thin boy, with gentle facial features and a loving demeanor, even bullies found it hard to hate him for long. Unfortunately, the town where they attended high school was larger than their hometown with many people who didn't know Harry. One day, Draco had walked into the gym changing rooms and found that Harry had been cornered by a group of boys. They were calling him a fag and threatening to rough him up. Through this all, Harry said and did nothing to defend himself.

With a burst of anger, Draco had called out to the boys and told them they better scat before he kicked their asses. Back then, Draco had been a tall slightly menacing boy that no one wanted to mess with, especially when he was angry. Sensing danger, the boys who had been picking on Harry all made their retreat. Draco then stormed over to Harry and demanded to know why he hadn't tried to defend himself. Harry had looked up at Draco and shrugged, before retrieving his backpack from where it had be thrown across the room, and digging out a Unicorn Pop. Later that day, on the bus ride back to their town, Harry had asked Draco "Would it bother you if I really was gay?"

Draco had never given Harry an answer to that question. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before adding some Unicorn Pops to his bag.

_Chocolate..._

_What's a candy store without chocolate?_ Draco thought when he came to a stop in front of the next shelf. Childhood would be a lot less sweet without the world's favorite treat.

Draco's first kiss had been chocolate flavored. Well, at least his first kiss that meant anything since every child kissed someone during their curious prepubescent years just to see how it would feel. Draco's prepubescent kiss had been with Pansy Parkinson in the fourth grade. It had been nothing special and was quickly forgotten about soon after. No, the first kiss that had meant anything to Draco had come his junior year of high school, it had been in the woods behind his house, had tasted like chocolate, and had been with Harry.

At the time, Draco had been fighting with his father a lot about the future and what he wanted out of life. Lucius Malfoy was the town's mayor and owner of the General Store; to him there was no question that Draco would stay in town and inherit the store and, in time, become mayor as well. But Draco's dreams had been bigger and his father couldn't stand for his rebellious mind-frames.

It was a nightly occurrence for the two headstrong Malfoy men to have it out leading to Draco running out of the house in a rage and seeking solace in the woods behind the house. It those days, Draco hated the entire world because it felt like everyone was out to get him. Everyone except a certain green-eyed boy that had become a permanent aspect of Draco's life before he was even old enough to comprehend the concept of obsession. It seemed that Harry always just knew when Draco needed him, because he was always waiting just beyond the tree-line whenever Draco stormed out of the house; perhaps Harry was just as obsessed as Draco was.

The night of their first kiss, Draco had been furious at his father and had taken it out of Harry. Harry had this belief that it was impossible to be anything but happy when eating chocolate, so every time they met out in the woods he would have some of the Candy Shoppe's homemade chocolate and they would eat it together without ever saying more than two words to each other.

Except that night Lucius had been especially obstinate and Draco was especially pissed off at the world. When Harry had offered him the chocolate, Draco had knocked it out of his hand. Draco then proceeded to yell at Harry and blame him for everything that was wrong with his life. He called him names and hit him more than once. All the while, Harry had just stood there taking it. This had pissed Draco off even more. He called Harry a fag and a whore, then pinned him against a tree and ravished his mouth. Harry's mouth had tasted like chocolate.

Draco probably would have raped Harry that night—he'd come very close to doing so and Harry seemed as if he was just going to let him—if his mother hadn't come out of the house and stood at the tree-line calling his name. Draco had come to his senses to find he'd ripped off most of Harry's clothes and those green eyes were looking at him with such emptiness it scared him shitless.

Draco had run away from that night with a new resolve to leave this town and never look back. He had come so close to hurting the only person in this oppressive town that meant anything to him. He'd finally destroyed the last bit of happiness that could be found within the town's confining borders. Draco had to escape, if not for his self then for Harry.

As Draco stared at the shelf where the chocolates were displayed, he had to fight back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Harry had meant so much to him, and he'd nearly broken the boy beyond repair in one act of folly. He'd thought he'd scared Harry away from him forever, but the next day Draco had gotten on the bus that took them to school the next town over and Harry had looked up at him with bright green eyes from the first bus seat. Harry had smiled at him and invited him to sit down as if nothing had happened at all.

Draco had cried that day. Right there on the bus, he'd sat down in the seat with Harry and tears had rolled down his cheeks. Harry's hand had wrapped around his, and he's turned to his friend in surprise. Harry had only smiled, before turning to the window and humming a familiar tune about a girl who had tied her dress with licorice. This had only made Draco cry harder, until Harry had turned and kissed him right there on the bus.

His mouth had tasted like chocolate.

_Jelly Beans…_

After adding some chocolates to his bag, Draco moved on to the next part of the store.

The Candy Shoppe had two options on how to purchase jelly beans. You could either buy these little cloth sacks that had been specially embroidered by the town's Women's Club—the flowery patterns made these only popular among females—or you could by a Mason jar full. The Shoppe carried a large variety of flavors as well: "anything from anise to zucchini" the sign said. If they really had zucchini flavor, Draco had never found one and the anise was easily avoided by not eating the black ones, but most of the rest were really good.

His senior year of high school, Draco had developed a slight addiction to the Candy Shoppe jelly beans. He could easily go through three Mason jars a week and still be wanting more. Harry had thought his addiction was funny, except Draco had pointed out that Harry was addicted to anything that had sugar in it so he had no right to talk. Harry only smiled and ate the jelly beans right along with him. Harry hated the sour flavors, which Draco thought was funny. One day Draco had gone to the Candy Shoppe and special ordered a jelly bean sack filled with nothing but sour flavors. He'd given the sack to Harry, and could only laugh when the green eyed boy had started throwing them at his head.

After their kiss junior year, Draco wasn't exactly sure what his and Harry's relationship was. They kissed a lot, anything from quick pecks to half hour snogging sessions. They gave each other hand-jobs and blowjobs and did anything short of actual sex. Harry was infuriatingly compliant to all of Draco's advances and never initiated any intimacy after that first kiss on the bus. Harry never complained about Draco dating girls and he listened impassively when Draco told him about his sexual exploits with the girls he dated.

They had never said their relationship was exclusive or even if they were in a relationship at all. Even if they actually were in a relationship, Draco doubted his ability to remain faithful. Harry was gay, he had admitted that much back their freshmen year, but Draco wasn't gay; he wasn't even bi. The only boy Draco had ever been attracted to was Harry and while Harry was amazing and attractive, he lacked the ability to satisfy all of Draco's needs and desires. Apparently Harry was ok with that, since he never expressed the desire to make what they had exclusive or even public for that matter.

It was the jelly beans that had told Draco that he really didn't know Harry at all.

Draco had never been to Harry's house nor met his parents, but in a town as small as theirs everyone knew everyone's business. He knew where Harry lived. He knew that Harry was an orphan rumored to have been dropped on the doorstep of his relatives' house. If you listened to all the rumors, Harry was the worst type or person: a liar, thief, criminal, delinquent, you name it and his relatives have probably accused him of it. But anyone who actually knew Harry could see that most of the rumors were a lie.

In all the years Draco had known Harry, it had never occurred to him that perhaps the boy he knew wasn't just a cover. He probably never would have discovered the real Harry if he hadn't been in a romantic mood and decided to throw jelly beans at Harry's window one night like pebbles in the romance novels his mother was so fond of.

It hadn't been hard to find Harry's house, but when he got there he hadn't expected to stumble across Harry's uncle dragging him out of the house by his hair and locking him in the garden shed. Draco stood back and watched as Harry's uncle hit him and called him the very same things Draco had called during his night of folly. Even from where Draco stood concealed in shadows, he could see the very same empty green eyes that had scared him shitless that night. This was when Draco realized that he knew absolutely nothing about Harry, and deep in his heart he resolved to keep it that way. Everyone is entitled to their secrets after all.

That night, Draco had turned his back and walked away from Harry being abused and locked in a shed.

Draco added two sacks of jelly beans to his bag.

It was three weeks after that night, the day after their high school graduation that Draco met Harry in the woods behind his house and the two of them had sex for the first and last time. The day after that, Harry had given Draco thirty Candy Shoppe nougat chews. The green eyed by had smiled at him and said in a pleading tone, "I don't know if these will get you to London, Paris, or Rome but they're just a little reminder of home." Draco had smiled and wrapped Harry in his arms. "You'll come back and visit, won't you?" Harry had asked. "You'll come back for me right?"

Even as he'd said it, Draco had known he was telling a lie, but still he couldn't bear to make Harry cry. "Yeah, I'll come back for you. I promise." He pretended not to hear the next words Harry whispered into his ear.

That had been twenty years ago.

Harry walked to the front counter of the Candy Shoppe where Hal Honeyduke was counting the money in his register. Neither spoke a word as he rang up Draco purchases and Draco paid with a big bill that more than covered the cost of the candy, but walked out of the store without waiting for change.

Draco walked down the main street of the small town in which he'd grown up. Time had stopped for this town. Nothing here ever changed. This town was a prison for someone like Draco, but he had been lucky enough to escape. In this town so small that a two and half feet rope of nougat can last a walk from one end to the other if Draco hadn't left it would have been his grave.

At the end of the main road, there was a smaller dirt road that cut a path through the woods. This road led to the town's cemetery. Draco walked through the broken iron gate and followed directions that had been given to him earlier that day. He came to a stop in front of a small grave that didn't even have a proper headstone. Written on a laminated card was the name of the last bit of happiness that ever lived in that town.

Draco kneeled and looked at the words. He gently caressed the card. He swallowed back tears at the memory of a green eyed boy who always had a smile for him.

With a sigh, Draco set down the bag of candy he bought at the Candy Shoppe and finally said the words Harry had been waiting twenty years to hear.

"I love you, too."

_End._


End file.
